[Mookie Wilson]

is second street cafe out of business or in the process of going out of business? this would be very grave news indeed!

[abs276]

passed by it all covered up today, and everyone i saw asked the same thing. strange. i have no idea though.

[DrabRabbit]

Very definitely closed. I'm friends with a bunch of the staff, all looking for new jobs. No one had any idea on Monday and by Wednesday they were closed.

Drag.

[abs276]

http://gowanuslounge.blogspot.com/2008/01/par.....bombshell-2nd-street.html

[Mookie Wilson]

so strange. they just remodeled last summer.

[pitu]

What is up with that block??
The Gowanus Lounge story points out all the empties, bookstores and restaurants. Why did Tempo Presto shut so quickly at that location?

Anybody tracking the real estate (rents or other plans) angle?

[The Chipster]

If a corner spot, kid friendly restaurant across from PS 321 can't stay in business---what can?!!
_________________
Ask a burning question, get a burning answer.

[benzapp]

The problem is landlords are getting greedy.

I wouldn't worry though, 7th Ave has been finished as a retail destination for a number of years. Landlords either have brokers (often offices of said owners) as tenants or national credit rated tenants (Starbucks, Citibank, etc).

Most tenants who are interested in providing entertainment or a good restaurant will simply move to an area where rents are $60 psf or less. They know people will travel.

The spillover effect has created a vibrant 5th Avenue, and there is nowhere to go but up in places like Prospect Heights. Vanderbilt Avenue still has a ways to go, and I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't get to be a serious restaurant destination.

[barefoot]

[rebeccaariel]

It is so sad about 2nd Street...we ordered or went there at least once a week

Does anyone know where they got their Red Velvet cake from? We really need our fix!

[steve]

I don't know...the remodel and menu were pretty uninspired....I'm not surprised. It was great for 1997;
_________________
For The Love Of Paris, Don't Go To The Lounge!

[rebeccaariel]

2nd Street was my favorite restaurant in Park Slope. I ate there at least once a week, and loved every single item on their menu. They were the best value in the neighborhood. I am ridiculously sad, and my delivery options seem so uninteresting now.

[Flexichick]

I remember when I moved here in Oct. 1997 and I picked up one of their menus. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I was never once inspired to eat there.

I wish 7th Ave. would start having better places - like 5th, but I'm sure rents are too high for that.

[Santa]

theres tons of stuff opening on 4th and 3rd ave in the next few months.

everything is just moving over.

[belzjm]

it's so weird to me because it still seems like so many people live along the 7th avenue corridor.

i mean...there is money to be spent, but i feel as though local business owners still haven't quite figured out what exactly the surrounding residents want or need.

i wonder if a gourmet garage would do well around here.

or what about something like a lenny's bagels...somewhere you can go in pick up a turkey sandwich, hummus on a roll, eggsalad...and stays open kinda late.

[dw438]

It's sort of odd that so many businesses in such a small area have gone bellyup in uch a short period of time. The much-more vibrant (and probably cheaper in rent) 5th Avenue restaurant scene is at its height right now ... while 7th Avenue is going through a cycle right now ... probably fueled by landlords charging what they think the market will bear. Food spaces like Tempo Presto, Maggie Moo's, and now the 2nd Avenue Cafe ... what's to replace them?
I'm fearful of saying that all we'll have left around there is the Grecian Corner!

[Karl the Druid]

[Frank Lloyd Wrong]

Damn, I ordered from them every week. Their food was really good, and with the prices it was one of the best values in the slope. Does anyone know who has similar food for delivery? I'm starving without my Vegetarian Chili and Red-Velvet Cake fix.

[LongTimeSloper]

Another place I never saw the attraction to-ate there quite a few times and just never ever liked the food. Kept going because so many people would talk about it.

It won't be missed by me.

[Mamacita]

They had one of best late night cheap eats in the slope.
After 9pm you could get a burger, fries and free beer for about $9.
It was a steal. The burger was excellent and they gave you butter, bread and whole grain crackers as you waited. Seriously, an amazing deal around here.

I'll miss it

[kosherdave]

Wow, I knew they should never have yanked down all those crayon drawings! Gave it a nice friendly atmosphere. Sad to see that place go. I liked it and went there pretty frequently!

[The Chipster]

Everyone keeps saying the rents on 7th are so high; move to 5th. But do you have any idea what they're getting on 5th Ave?!! It ain't cheap!
I do think there's something weird about these places going out. I didn't frequent them because of their "blandness", i.e. child-friendly vibe. But isn't that what parents wanted? These places were all stroller/child-friendly: 2nd St., Maggie Moo's, Tempo Presto, Book Store.
Is the cost of accomodating strollers, caregivers, "loiterers" too high? Just wondering....
_________________
Ask a burning question, get a burning answer.

[LongTimeSloper]

I have to agree with The Chipster there-that is the perfect word for 2nd Street Cafe-blandness. I am a parent, and, yes, I enjoy taking my children out to dinner at times, but, i want the food to be good also. Does family friendly/kid friendly always have to equal crappy food?

There are also plenty of times that we go out alone without the kids. I know this is a shocking statement nowadays, but, there are some restaurants/settings that are just not a place you should be bringing your kids to.

The same goes for Maggie Moos-I don't think it was so much the hanging out aspect but the fact that their ice cream sucked IMO. And, they charged a lot for it! personally, I like Baskin Robbins ice cream better than that stuff and it cost a lot less, and, many people I know felt the same way about Maggies.

Tempo on the other hand, I was surprised about-they always seemed like they did business.

[belzjm]

The following are some demographic stats on Park Slope (11217):

47.90% White
31.60% Black
0.60% Native American
0.10% or Alaskan Native Islander
11.10% Asian
24.70% Hispanic

19.50% Families w/Children
24.60% Families Married
10.50% Married w/Children
15.10% Female Household
7.60% Female w/Children
56.60% Non-Family
39.60% Single Household

(numbers equal more than 100% because some chose more than 1 option)

With this in mind, I wish business owners would realize that we are not ALL married with kids in Park Slope. A full 40% are single in the neighborhood and only 1/4th are married with kids.

I think that too many of these establishments cater almost solely to the stroller set and think that if they want to be truly successful and long-lasting, they should be more mindful of the people who ACTUALLY live in the neighborhood. Sure...have some places for familes, but a place like 2nd street cafe and many of these others really aren't super attractive to the quite large single population in Park Slope.

7th Avenue could certainly stand for some more bars, some restaurants that are not inundated with strollers and kids and the like.

The stats speak for themselves, but probably 90% of the businesses along 7th cater only to familes.

[Carnivore]

Good point, except that those numbers don't take into account who's around during the day, during business hours.

[meganlibrarian]

[belzjm]

11217 is north park slope. it's my zip code...

and yes, carnivore...you are right about during the day customers. i didn't think of that. but whatever all these places are doing doesn't seem to be working.

all i know is that my building...comprised mostly of singles....we all wish they'd open up a fun bar on 7th somewhere in the northern area.

if we are any indication of the neighborhood at large, perhaps those stats are onto something.

clearly the stuff out there isn't working out well.

we've got our fingers crossed for a nice little bar on 7th between union and berkeley. looks like it will be unveiled soon-ish...

[Brooke Lynn Knight]

The theory that child/family-friendliness might hurt business is disproven by a business only a few yards away from 2nd St Cafe -- Two Boots. It was there when I moved to the Slope 18 years ago, and was famously family-friendly even then. In fact, that was one of their main claims to fame -- catering to families, making "smiley-face" pizzas and letting tykes watch the kitchen goings-on through a window, etc. I think they were the first to catch on to the potential profitability of this niche. Now they have more locations and still appear to be thriving.

More recently, Perch and Tea Lounge have made names for themselves with a very pro-family attitude. I don't care for Tea Lounge myself -- a bit too much of a "scene," and I don't like the dark, dusty decor. I do like Perch, though. The food is just okay, but I know the place and its patrons are hated by hipsters, which allows me and my family to have a blisfully hipster-free meal.

What happened to 2nd St Cafe? I don't know. I liked it in the crayon-tablecloth days, but it went downhill. I do know that I always felt their brunches were overpriced for not-very-much and not-very-good food and indifferent service. I really wanted to like the place, 'cause I like sitting outside, but I finally gave up when I got an order of mussels that were so damn old they were eligible for Social Security.
_________________
i blame such comments on boredom and drinkng, this is why we need more green spaces
-- Karl the Druid

[belzjm]

here is 11215:

Still...a full half the population are not families and one in three are single....these seem to go against the "typical" pigeon hole of Park Slopers. And by typical, I mean gawker I guess....

68.00% White
8.10% Black
0.50% Native American
0.10% Alaskan Native Islander
12.60% Asian
26.60% Hispanic

23.90% Families w/Children
34.70% Married Families
17.10% Married w/Children
11.20% Female Household
5.50% Female w/Children
50.30% Non-Family
34.10% Single Household

[belzjm]

sorry...i didn't mean to imply that a family friendly business meant death to that business, i was just thinking out loud that it seems that there is a dearth of said family friendly businesses along 7th avenue. maybe too many for the amount of families that actually live there. and not enough to reflect all the others who do not have kids.

i love kids and enjoy living in a family friendly neighborhood actually, but as a single person i would really like to have more bar/restuarant options along 7th avenue that would be more inviting for others like me (i.e. a tad more like some of the businesses along 5th). it seems to me that the stats might reflect my desires a little bit, was really my only point...

if not...hey...i'm more than happy to walk down to 5th, which is where i mostly hang out, but it just struck me as odd after seeing those stats that there might indeed still be a demand for more of the 5th avenue stuff up on 7th but a combination of soaring rents and business owners thinking "it's nothin but a bunch of strollers up there" might be contributing to so many businesses going under lately.

[belzjm]

i was also saying this, in part because it's the smaller mom and pop type business owners who may not be fully aware of the demographics of park slope.

the larger corporations certainly do keep track of this stuff, and i'm concerned that as some of these larger spaces become available on 7th avenue, we are going to see our first gap, banana republic or old navy.

[The Chipster]

7th Ave. def. needs a good bar for single people! Yes, we must recognize who is around during the day--and that statistic is obvious--but at night, it's almost deserted! But, because of 7th Ave's reputation (?) I wonder if anyone would even think of opening up a much needed bar.
_________________
Ask a burning question, get a burning answer.

[Carmen]

Where do young singles go on 5th ave? To be fair, I'm not actually single but I am part of that demographic and my boy and I would much rather go hang out in those types of bars than wade through the strollers...
We usually hit up Bar4 if we're itching for somewhere to go on our side of the hood.

[Bina]

have fond memories of the place with above average food
hopefully we'll get another nice joint for replacement
_________________
www.binaguptapoetry.com

[abs276]

it's the first restaurant i went to in park slope...so i had a sentimental sorta attachment to it, but once the sweet potato gratin was taken off the menu (several years ago), it was just not the same.

[Old Time Brooklyn]

[Mamacita]

I never went during the day and I'm not into the kid-factor, but I'm telling ya! The late night burger and beer special was outstanding. And adults like playing with crayons too.

We need more late night burger joints. Their salad wasn't too bad either.

[belzjm]

we need more late night anything....

sometimes i feel like i'm the only person in park dope awake past 10pm...

[LongTimeSloper]

^^ then you need to hang out on 5th Avenue more~

[belzjm]

yeah....i do, i do...i really enjoy 5th.

but sometimes the crawl back up to 8th can get a little sloppy.

[Santa]

[LongTimeSloper]

[belzjm]

i'm a quiet drunk....

usually too busy smokin to make much noise.

[Ruby-in-BKLYN]

I just learned about 2nd St.'s closing last night. Although the food there was just fine -- not bad, but nothing to write home about -- it was among the best available on 7th Ave, at least below 9th St.

Although this stuff brings out all our deep-seated tribal tensions (e.g., stroller set vs. singles set) the real tragedy is that 'local' spots -- whether they're great or just fine (since despite it's 'blandness, 2nd St. did seem to do a decent business), and whether or not they cater to right crowd -- simply can't afford the ridiculously rising cost of rent. The rumor I heard was that the rent had more than doubled for 2nd St. Cafe this year. It seems 7th Avenue is destined to become a street of real estate brokers, banks, and Starbucks. The cost of the Manhattan-ification of PS is a poorer quality of life for those of us who live (and try to eat) here.

[nkotsonis]

I happen to know the owner of this building, a local plumber, and money and issues of rent wasn't the reason why the place closed.
The owners of the cafe were two brothers and both were split in the direction they wanted to take the cafe. One brother wanted to keep it child friendly, the other to a more adult establishment with full wet bar.
That's why they had changed the entrance to the side street, they wanted more space for their bar scene.
Sometimes it's the merchants fault for failing, and not the property owners.